A Helping Hand
by Nyt Yanse
Summary: Delenn needs to ask for Lochley's help. And Murphy's looking over her shoulder.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

Title: A Helping... Hand.

Fandom: Babylon 5.

Characters: Delenn, Lochley, Sheridan.

Rating: T, for minor swearing and non-explicit sexuality. Mild femslash.

Disclaimer: I do not think that I can do a better, equal or even passable imitation of The Great Maker Straczynski. This is just for fun. I don't own it. I don't get money from it. Sue me and I'll laugh. And hide.

Warnings: Awkwardness, sexual situations (non graphic), mild swearing.

Spoilers: Just the huge Sheridan personal revelation in Season 5.

Summary: Delenn needs Lochley's help. And Murphy's looking over their shoulder.

Author's Note: I wrote this ages ago at work. Still got that annoying little bout of writer's block, so I decided to put this up. I swear I WILL finish all of my stories, unless I die first. It's just taking me some time, for which I am very sorry to all of you.

Lochley stood back to let Delenn in, puzzled. While they had come to terms with each other after John's surprise revelation to his wife, Delenn had still not sought out a friendship with Lochley as of yet. And Lochley was still slightly intimidated by the quiet strength the Minbari held herself with, although she'd never admit it.

"What can I do for you, Ambassador?" Lochley asked, opting for a clinically professional approach.

"I was wondering if I could ask you about a very... personal issue." Delenn said, looking as shifty as a Minbari could look.

'Oh crap, she's going to ask about me and John!' She thought, panicking. She really didn't want to talk about his. "Uh, Ambassador-"

"Please, this is very personal and... rather embarrassing. I'd prefer it if you called me Delenn."

Trying to fight the urge to either gape or flee, she said "OK, then. Delenn."

"Thank you. I was wondering... where do I... HOW do I..." She looked frustrated, and Lochley could feel for her. She, too, was rarely lost for words.

"I think I need your advice."

Lochley paused, surprised. Then her brain re-engaged and she gestured to the sofa. "Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea?"

"Thank you. And yes, please, some tea would be perfect." She sat with a fluid grace that the Captain privately envied as she went about getting the tea ready. The silence was deafening in its meaning and profoundness as she tried to guess what the Ambassador wanted, and tried not to think that it might have something to do with the three month embarrassment on her record that was her marriage to John.

"I am still trying to understand what it means to be what I am." Delenn said suddenly, taking Lochley by surprise as she poured the water, causing her to spill some of it on the counter. Delenn didn't seem to notice as she continued. "I am no longer a Minbari, but neither am I Human. I belong to neither. John would say that I am both. I do not know how to define myself anymore, except by John. Our love is the only stable thing in my soul now, and I want to make him happy. In every way."

Lochley felt as if she teetered on the edge of a precipice, suspended over a pit of humiliation and potential social and political estrangement. And then Delenn confirmed it.

"I need your advice on how to best... please John. As his wife... as a woman."

'Oh, crap!'

Please review; let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Trying not to splutter, Lochley said "Delenn... maybe you'd be better off asking John... or someone in MedBay. I don't think I'm the best person for this..."

"But you are, Captain. I cannot ask John, I cannot admit to him that I cannot be a wife to him in the most basic way. And you know John in that way better than anyone else... alive. No one in MedBay can tell me anything that will help. You, on the other hand, you _know_. Please... Elizabeth. Help me."

How could she refuse? Lochley sighed, feeling slightly trapped. "OK, Delenn. I'll help, or at least I'll try. First things first- what's the main problem?"

"Well," started Delenn, scrunching her face up in thought, "well, sometimes, when we're being intimate, I feel like John's... holding back. He seems tense, like he's restraining himself."

Lochley nodded, thinking deeply. "It sounds like... he's worried. He's not sure how you'd react to his... full enthusiasm. He's holding back because he thinks you'd prefer it that way."

"His 'full enthusiasm'? What does that mean?" Asked Delenn, confusion clear again.

"Well... Some men aren't very... active, when it comes to intimacy." She was fairly certain she was beet red by now. "Some even prefer to just lie back and... let the woman do everything." Delenn looked shocked. Lochley hurried on. "Obviously, John isn't such a man. He likes being the active one, he once told me..." At this point, remembering who she was speaking to, she went bright pink.

Delenn smiled, apparently guessing the reason for her human companion's sudden silence. "It's alright, Elizabeth."

Smiling shakily, she went on. "He said that, as my husband, it was his duty to pleasure me."

Delenn smiled. "You two were happy together."

Lochley laughed. "Actually we never stopped fighting. Even when we were..." Oh hell, might as well be open. "Intimate, we still argued. I wanted to be the one in charge, the emotional provider. The one on top, as the saying goes. He wanted the same thing. We were way too young, and far too impulsive." She smiled fondly and Delenn smiled back. A few moments later, she continued. "Anyway, the point is- you don't need to do anything to please John. He's one of those men who wants to do everything for you."

"And what about his... 'holding himself back'? Is there anything I can do there to help him relax?"

"Well," Lochley thought hard. "You could try initiating some of your sessions... ahem... 'enthusiastically'."

"How would I do it 'enthusiastically'?" Asked Delenn.

"Well..."


	3. Chapter 3

Ten minutes later, Lochley had abandoned all attempts at non-explicit explanations. She'd covered biting, scratching and throwing around during sex, and just what John preferred (which was everything... and then some), and now she was instructing Delenn in ways to incite John's interest.

"But isn't this dangerous?" Asked Delenn.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, jumping onto him. What if I cause him an injury?"

Lochley tried not to sigh in annoyance. "You asked me the same question about biting. And scratching. And rolling around in bed- look, Delenn, John won't love you any less if you don't try this." The Minbari looked apprehensive. "John is not one of those jerks who are more focused on sex than love. He would never want you to do anything you were not comfortable with."

Delenn sighed, confusion giving way to worry. I know he would not, but I cannot help it- among my people there is great emphasis on the duties you must perform when you have committed to a relationship- one of those duties is to provide for your mate's physical desires. I do not wish to fail John."

Lochley nodded, not wanting to get into a sociological discussion. Then she had an idea.

"If you're so worried about hurting John, why not practise?"

She looked horrified. "I cannot ask John to help me learn something I should know by instinct!"

"Not with John, with someone else!" Quickly realising what she'd said, and cataloguing the 'impending spontaneous combustion' expression on Delenn's face she hurriedly added "With a friend! As a friend!" Seeing the slightly calmer but still serious 'explain now' expression on her face, she went on. "Some humans... practise... their, um, their techniques. With the help of a close friend whom they trust. Usually someone who is experienced in the necessary ways and is practical enough to not mistake the request as anything more..." Oh crap.

The look of sudden dawning revelation on Delenn's face put an expression of terror on Lochley's.

"Captain..."

"Ambassador, it's been really nice talking to you but I have a lot of work to do so-"

"Captain Lochley..."

"I've got four alien conferences to organise and no doubt there'll be crisis or other at some point, I hope-"

"Captain Elizabeth Lochley." There was a confident finality to her tone that shut Lochley right up. "You say that humans do this. You say the friend they ask must have the necessary experience. And you say the friend must be practical. You fulfil all of those criteria."

Another grave dug with her own dental work. Lochley shook her head, feeling dazed. Indeed, Delenn couldn't have dazed her any better if she'd used a sack of bricks.

"Delenn... I'm really not sure about this..."

"Please, Captain. I trust you."

Well, what was she supposed to say to that? Only one thing to say.

"Er... OK."

Well, there was probably a better way to say it.


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't intend to wait this long- I've only just moved so everything's been up in the air. Enjoy!

As Lochley bounced off the bed a fourth time, she reflected that Stephen would probably ask her a few questions about the bruises. And scratches. And the bite marks...

"YEOUCH! Delenn, I told you... Not that hard! The point is not to draw blood."

"Sorry Captain." Came Delenn's muffled reply. The vibrations sent a shiver through Lochley's frame. She briefly considered telling Delenn that her prowess indicated that she had the natural talent she feared was absent.

"OK, OK, let's take a moment... to breathe..." As they both sat up on the bed, Lochley reflected that this whole 'diplomacy' thing was a lot more complicated than she had thought. EarthForce hadn't given her any training for _this_. Though, admittedly, it wasn't like this was actually unpleasant. Just slightly awkward. This had eventually disappeared some time after Delenn's bra had gotten hooked on one of the hanging plants and they'd spent twenty minutes trying to get it down again without success.

As they quickly broke for a glass of water and to catch their breaths, she remembered something her father had once said about politics- "You may think you're getting into bed with one person, but you end up getting screwed by someone else." If only he'd known.

"Captain Lochley. You said something earlier about 'dirty talking'. Could you explain a bit more about that?" Inwardly, she cursed. Who'd have thought that the demure Ambassador Delenn was so insatiable! If only John knew, he'd never show up to those early morning meetings!

Standing up- and reflecting that she was going to be walking funny for days after trying to demonstrate the Kama Sutra positions- she started back to her bedroom to continue the love lessons (Or, rather, lust lessons). Getting onto the bed, she said, "OK, now one thing about dirty talking is that it's best spoken intimately-"

Just at that moment, the door chime went off, an unwelcome reminder of the outside world. Delenn- naked and mussed- and Lochley- topless and sweaty- both froze. Then things got so much worse.

"Captain? It's President Sheridan. I need to have a quick word."


	5. Chapter 5

"Omigod!" Spluttered Lochley, practically falling out of the bed.

"Calm down Captain." Said Delenn, remarkably calm considering the fact that her husband of six months was about to walk in on her -_naked_- in bed with his topless ex-wife. A soap-opera storyline, if ever she heard one.

"Calm down?"

"Yes. We were not doing anything wrong. As you said, a friend helping a friend."

Lochley decided to forgo slapping some sense into her deluded would-be sexual student in lei of getting dressed very fast. Yanking her jacket on and trying to not tie her fingers up as she rushed in getting the buttons done, she said, "Just please don't say anything. If anyone happens to be with him... If the rest of the station knew..."

"Very well Captain. I will keep quiet. But-"

"No buts! Please! Just stay very quiet."

"Yes Captain, I will, but..." The door chime interrupted whatever she was about to say.

"Oh crap!" Not stopping to apologise to Delenn or her raised eyebrows, Lochley shot out to her front room, yanking the door shut and blurting out "Come in!"

The door swung open, revealing a worried looking President. "Captain, have you seen anything of Delenn?"

"Uh..." The fact that she' seen more of Delenn in the last two hours than she had in five months flashed through her mind, but was instantly vetoed as an unsuitable answer.

"It's just she said she needed to see you about something, and that was a couple of hours ago."

Trying not to blush at the image of exactly how Delenn had seen her, she answered "Um, she was here, then she wasn't. "Watching John's expressive face crease in confusion, she tried to explain. "She was here. Before. You got here... Before were here, she was here. And then she left. She's not here now." She zipped her mouth shut realising she was blabbering.

John seemed to realise it too. "Are you feeling OK?"

"Yes I... I'm fine, really I am fine." Zipping again.

"Then can I ask another question?"

"Sure, go right ahead."

"Why is Delenn's jacket here?"


	6. Chapter 6

Feeling fairly certain she was about to faint, she tried to bluff. "I think she left it here. You know, when she was here."

"And then she wasn't?" Clarified Sheridan, his voice and face deliberately even and emotionless.

"Yeah, that... this, that-that's what happened." God, why was it she could handle crisis's without a problem, but the moment something as personal as this showed up, she acted like Mr Cotto!

"She took her jacket off and left it here?" Asked John, still carefully neutral.

"Uh... yeah!" Think, woman, think. "She was hot." Very hot. Smooth Liz, real smooth.

"And then she took off her socks?" He asked, walking over to her coffee table and picking up one of Delenn's stockings.

Temporarily shocked into silence, as she'd thought it was Delenn's panties she'd thrown under there, she said the first thing that came into her mind. "No, that's mine!"

Slowly, he turned to look at her. "Liz, I know it's been almost twenty years. But I do still remember a few things about you. And your tastes. And how... unconservative they tend to be out of uniform." They both went pink as they remembered his first present to her- a leather cat suit with some well placed holes- and how quickly they'd worn it out.

"Well, I'm experimenting." Gabbled Lochley, hoping desperately that her ability to lie would increase at some point.

"And are you experimenting with that?" He asked, pointing to her hanging plants- which were still adorned with Delenn's light blue brassiere.

"Uh... yes! I mean... no, that's... Uhh..."

"That's enough." Delenn's voice arrived in the room just before the lady herself, and just looking at the expression on John's face as he looked at his wife informed Lochley that she should have redone her Will sometime in the last few years. Turning around convinced her of that.


	7. Chapter 7

Delenn stood there. That was bad enough. She'd lied to cover the presence of her ex-husbands new wife in her quarters to said man- you didn't need to be paranoid to be suspicious of that. That Delenn's hair was mussed and her face was bright red and flushed was slightly worse- it was enough evidence in any court of morality that she and Delenn had been naughty. The fact that Delenn's under things were in plain sight, and not on her, was just one more factor of the reason why she was very happy there wasn't anyone with him. But actually, neither of those things were the worst part of this. The part that, no doubt, was the root of the tick in John's jaw line that was going crazy right now. No.

The worst part was that she was naked. Completely naked.

Naked enough to see the 'demonstration' bite marks on her shoulders, and thighs.

Naked enough that Lochley could guess that John's temper wasn't the only thing that was rising.

While John was fighting the urge to scream at Lochley and threw himself at Delenn and Lochley was wishing that the fusion core would detonate and end her suffering, Delenn felt a part of herself she would never have admitted to sing in joy and a perverse pleasure at the humans embarrassment at their perceived predicament.

She walked (she tried to 'sidle sensuously' but was unsure if she did it correctly) to John's side and smiled at him, trying to put all of her feelings for him, her love, her devotion, not to mention her incredible physical desire, into her eyes for him to see. In retrospect, as John went bright red, slightly cross-eyed and nearly fell, she may have overdone it.

When John gazed into Delenn's eyes, all thoughts of chaining her to the bedpost and filleting Lochley went right out of his head. Though, the thoughts of Delenn and restraints didn't go away quite so fast.

Her eyes... her pure milk-white skin... her gentle, welcoming curves...

The next thing he knew, his butt was trying to meet the floor as all of the blood that his legs and brain needed to operate flushed to an area of his body that was now demanding his immediate attention.

Stumbling slightly, he semi- staggered to his sweetly smiling sweetheart, who just had to know what she was doing to him. Technically a sadistic action, putting him through this. But he'd be willing to forgive her. Especially if she walked like that more often.

"Captain Lochley was just... helping me perfect my techniques." The sound of two sets of eyeballs popping was the only sound in the room. "Would you like us to show you what she has taught me?"


End file.
